Syria, Iraq agreed to resume diplomatic relations

The Iraqi weekly al-Itihad said on Tuesday that Iraq will soon open a department for supervising Iraqi interests in Damascus.

The paper quoted an official at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry whose identity was not disclosed as saying that an Iraqi team will rent a building for supervising the country's interests in the Syrian capital.

In Damascus, officials whose identities were also not disclosed said on Tuesday that little progress has been achieved towards resuming relations between the two states since the two sides had agreed to permit the Algerian embassy to represent its interests last February.

Earlier this week, Iraqi Foreign Minister Muhammad Saeed al-Sahaf informed the Iraqi Parliament that Syria and Iraq had agreed to resume diplomatic relations. No more details were given in this regard.